Is the "extinct" honshu wolf still alive in Japan?
Fascinating post on Cryptomundo about the honshu wolf, which is thought to have become extinct in 1905, but may still be around. It's a strange and beautiful looking creature. I've never heard of it until I read the post about it.LinkThe world’s smallest variety of wolf, the Japanese wolf, also called the Honshu Wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax), supposedly became extinct in 1905 in Nara prefecture. But did some survive beyond that date? And was there physical proof of this, in 1910 in Fukui prefecture? Sightings of the Japanese wolf persist to the present. A new debate is occurring currently in Japan that the extinction date may have been incorrect, almost immediately. Intriguingly, finding a taxidermy example of the Honshu Wolf presently is quite difficult. Only five mounted specimens are known worldwide, three in Japan, one in the Netherlands (which is pictured in Swift as a Swallow), and the supposedly final 1905 animal, which is located at the British Museum.
Share this post
Mark Frauenfelder
My latest book, Made by Hand, now in paperback. Follow me on Twitter.
Where not otherwise specified, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States and other countries.